Method of sapping or destroying trenches or other defensive works.



H. R. HUGHES.

METHOD OF SAPPING 0R DESTROYING TRENCHES OR OTHER DEFENSIVE WORKS.

APPLICATION FlLED DEC. 7. 1915.

Patented Sept. 17, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET I.

A TTORNE Y6 WITNESSES. I

H. a. HUGHES. METHOD OF SAPPING 0R DESTROYING TRENCHES OR OTHER DEFENSIVE WORKS.

APPLlCATlON FILED DEC-7.1915.

WITNESSES:

W j f 4 H. R. HUGHES.

METHOD OF SAPPING on DESTROYING TRENCHES OR OTHER DEFENSIVE worms.

APPLICATXON FlLED DEC-7.1915- v 1,278,932. Patentedsept. 17, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHE A TTORNE VS INVENTOR H. R. HUGHES METHOD OF SAPPING 0R DESTROYING TRENCHES OR OTHER DEFENSIVE WORKS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC- 7. I915.

Patented Sept. 17, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

FIGII.

INVENTOR BY [U a flTTORII/Efii sTATEs PATENT oFFICEQ 'now mn n. HUGHES, or Hous'roN, TEXAS.

METHOD or SAPPING on n sTRoYme TRENCHES 03. OTHER DEFENSIVE worms.

To all whom it may concern: 7 Be. it known that I, HOWARD- R. -HUGHE S', a cltizen of the United States, residing at Hou'ston,'in the county of Harris and State A It is an' old-practice in warfare to destroy.

defensive works by tunneling thereunder,

' arranging an explosive at the inner end of tively long tunnel without giving notice to the tunnel, and then detonating the ex 10 sive. Heretiofore all the tunneling in t ese undermining orsapping operations has been accomplished by hand-digging, and all such operations have been accompanied by numerous drawbacks, owing to the limited applicability thereof and to the dangers present. For while tunnels are being driven toward an enemys defensive works, that enemy is in turn generally actively engaged in driving counter-tunnels and placing counter-mines for the purpose of destroying the tunneling operations .and the men engaged in carrying on such operations. It is obvious that anysuch tunneling operations to be successful must be carried on without the knowledge of the enemy, and the prior methods of carrying on, these operations have on that account been very limitedfin their use, for it is impossible to drive a tunnel by hand through very hard formations, orto properly ventilate a comparatheenemy of the tunneling operations. vA

very serious defect of the hand-tunneling is that it requires a, comparatively long time to dig a tunnel of substantial length. The

a problem necessary to be solved, therefore,-

.was to provide an adequate means for destance one thousand feet. p

Y Ihave'solved this problem by devising the stroying quickly, and without warning to the enemy,-a trench or fortification located at comparatively great distances, as for 1nmethod hereinafter particularly descr bed. This method consists generally fin forming a horizontal or substantially horizontal hole 56 in the ground by means of a rotary boring drill carried by a sectional drill stemwhose' illustrated,

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 17, 1918 Application filed December 7, 1915;" Serial No. 65,4 72. I

length is increased progressively during the drilling operation,'.the 'drill stem beingoperated by means located at the outer end of the hole and'the material that is disoperations are carried on by means, and

operators therefor, located in a pit or trench at a safe distance from the'enemys defens'ive works. The hole bored i'sof comparatively small size, and the depth to which it can be carried is practically unlimited.

Further, by varying the type of drill bit to suit the character of formation being operated upon, this hole can be driven quickly, easily and quietly through any type of earth formation. \It is evident, therefore,

that in carryingout mining operations by the use of my method, the defects and dangers which have been such a drawback in existing connection with 'the hitherto methods of carrying on such operations have been practically eliminated. v

The object of my invention as set forth above and as" more particularly pointedout and described hereinafter is to provide a novel process or method, of locating explo-' sivesunderneath a trench or other objectto be destroyed-and to provide means'for ex.- ploding the same. This method is prefer- "ably carried out by use of the mechanism hereinafter described and shown in the accompanying drawings; but I donot limit myself to" the form of mechanism shown.

In the drawings: I

Figure 1 is a plan view of said mechanism shown in operative position its relation to be destroyed being olearly the trench to Fig. 2 isa side elevationthereof, Fig. 3 shows one form of bit employed attached. to the drill stem,

Fig. 4 shows another form of bit employedtogether'with a sectional view of the stem and charged cylinder therein,

Fig. 5 shows a'longitudinal sectional view of the reamer in collapsed position,

. Fig. 6. shows a transverse sectional view thereof taken on the line (T/-01 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 shows alongitudinal sectional V ew thereof in operative 'pos tlon,

Fig. shows a .sectional view of the trench to be destroyed and the bore underneath,

charged cylinders therein,

' Figs. and 11 show enlarged 'views of said cylinders,-

. Fig. 12 shows the hole terminating at-the- -.surface in front of 'the. trench to be destroyed explosive projectile, v Fig. 13 shows the hole terminating in front of the trench so that the projectile will be'exploded by the impact withthe wall thereof, and

Fig. 14 shows the hole terminating at the surface in front of the trench for discharging, gases and the like in the trench.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, 'wherein like numerals of reference designate similar parts in each of the figures, the numeral 1 indicates a" section of the trench to be destroyed, which may be protected. by wire entanglements 2. Lo-

cated at a safe distance from this trench and within the'pit- 3 is a drilling machine mounted so 'as to swing horizontally. By

means of-this machine radiating holes 4: are

drilled which penetrate the ground underneath the wire entanglements and the enemys trenches and terminate beneath the latter. The frame 5 of the drilling machine .is

pivotally mounted upon asuitable base 6,.

thus permitting it to be swung horizontally. Mounted in the tubular bearing 7, carried by this frame, is therotatable sleeve 8 to which the drill stem 9 is clamped, the sleeve and stem being rotated by means of a motor 10 and gear. mechanism 11. Rotatably mounted in the frame is a threaded shaft 12 driven by the gear mechanism, 13. Attached to the sleeve 8 is a yoke 14: which projects through a slot in thebearing 7 and has an internallythreaded bore adapted to cooperate with the threads on the shaft 12. Rotation of the shaft 12 thus causes the yoke 14 to move longitudinally thereof and feeds the drill stem as desired. The free end of the drill stem carries a suitable bit 15,. the type ofwhich is'dependent uponthe ground forma- 'tion present. This bit is connected to the drill stem by a loose-fitting thread.--

The drill stem is in the form of a hollow tube or pipe, so that water may be forced therethrough to carry away the materials cut or disintegrated by the drill and also, as

- will be hereinafter explained, to carry the explosive into position. Thev drill stem may be lengthened as desired by adding thereto extra-sections of the pipe constituting such stem. For the purpose of forcing water through the hollow drill stem, I have provided a pump 17, preferably a three stage centrifugal pump, which Is connected to the drill stem by means of a swivel coupling 18.

for the purpose of discharging an The water forced through'the stem by this U pump passes out through the bit at the bot- Fig. 9 shows the enlarged bore and the' tom of the hole and returns on the outside of the stem, carrying the cuttings 'fromthe bit with it. In order to prevent excessive erosion at the mouth of-the hole," a short length of casing 16 is inserted therein.

The operation of the device is as follows: The drilling machine having been properly mounted in the pit or trench, the drill stem is rotated by: means of the motor and cotip-.

crating gear mechanisms. At the same time the threaded shaft 12 is rotated by means of the gear mechanism 13 to feed the drill stem forward. The rotary boring tool attached to the drill stem cuts away or disintegrates the material before it, the cuttings being washed'out of the hole thus formed by the Water supplied under pressure through the drill stem to the end of the hole. As the hole. deepens, the drill stem is lengthened by adding extra sections of pipe or tube thereto, and thus a hole of any desired depth can be driven.

It is sometimes desirable to ream out and enlarge the terminus of each hole, under-- neath thetrenches or other object to be destroyed, for the purpose of receiving a plurality of charged cylinders. This may be accomplished by means of a. reamer, a preferred form of which is illustrated in Figs.

5 and 7.

To so enlarge the hole, the bit 15' is first disconnected from the drill stem. This is accomplished by rotating the drill stem in a reverse direction, which, since the bit 15 is connected to said. stem by a loose-fitting thread allowing a ready. relative rotation of the drill and stem, causes the stem to unscrew from. the head of the bit. The stem is then withdrawn a suitable distance and a theflat springs 23, 23 secured thereto, which.

springs"project through the opposing slots 2-1, 24 cut through said section 19. The outer ends of said arms are in alinement with the deep notches 25, 25 in the corre--.

sponding end of the section 19. When it is desiredto insert the reamer, the swivel coupling 18 is disconnected and the reamer is inserted. within the outer. end ofthe stem 9. The swivel coupling is then again secured in place. Water under pressure is then supplied to the drill stem, driving the reameralong; to the inner end of the steam When the cutters 22 22' pass beyondthe inner free end of sai stem, they are spread apart, because of the action of the spring 26,.Which 'is interposed between the opposite ends of said arms and the outer ends of the arms will move into the corresponding notches '25, 25. At the same time, the springs '23, 23 will seat in the alined grooves 27, 27 in. the

inner-wall of thestem 9, and thus secure the into the stem. A coil spring 38 surrounds ithe rod 29 and is interposed between the \2()' lug 36, and the inner ends of the toggle 1 evers. This spring normally operates, through said levers, to hold the springs 23,

23 in the grooves 27, 27. When it is de- 1 sired to withdraw the reamer, the cable is 2.5 pulled, which operates through the rod 29 and the toggle levers to withdraw the springs 23,23 from the grooves 24 into the section 19,- and into the position shown in Fig. 5, when the reamer may be withdrawn. When the reamer is in operative position, as shown in Fig. 7, rotation of the stem 9 will cause it toream out and enlarge the inner-terminus of the hole as illustrated in Figs. 7, 8, and 9. Orifices 39,. 39 are provided through plug 36 to admit'a suflicient amountof Water to the reamer to carry away the cuttings and thus insure the proper operation thereof. i

. When the reamer has been withdrawn, the drill stem is advanced to the proper position-and' the cylinders 30, containing explosive charges, are forced by flufd pressure through the stem and into saidenlarged hole... The cylinders'have cups or washers 31, formed of leather or other suitable material, secure thereto so that the fluid pres-,

sure intro uced behind them will all be utilized in driving-them toward the inner end of the drill stem. The last one of the cylinders introduced has flexible fins 32, secured thereto, which are under compression while the cylinder is'within the drill stem and expand after the cylinder has been discharged from the stem and engage with the walls of the hole to secure the cylinder in position. This last cylinder introduced also has an electrical connection 33 attached to an-exploding cap carried by said cylinder. The outer endof this electrical connection 33 extends through the drill stem and out of the hole so as to be accessible to those opera-ting the drilling mechanism, whereby. its

charge may be exploded. The explosive charges having been placed in position the drill stem is then withdrawn, the hole filled ready to be exploded. Exploding the cylinder carrying theelectrical connection33 will operate to explode the other cylinders within the hole, the muddy water and plugged end of the hole preventing back-firing.

It will sometimes be found preferable to employ only one cylinder, as 30, andin such event, when the hole is completed, this cylinder is placed in the stem and is carried by the fluid current, passing through said stem to the inner'endthereof. The nose of said cylinder is oval or pointed and seats in the correspondingly shaped counter-bore 34 in the. bit head, and upon seating in this counter-bore shuts off the flow of "water through said head, thereby indicating that the cylinder has reached the inner end of the hole. This cylinder is also provided with cups 31' similar in construction and purpose to the cups 31, and attached thereto is an electrical connection 33, similar to the electrical connection heretofore described, for the purpose of exploding the charge carried in said cylinder. The innerloose-fitting thread. The cylinder 30 is forced into this innermost section by means of fluid pressure, as above explained, and the drill stem is then rotated backward unscrewing atthe point 35 andleaving said inner section, the bit and the charged cylinder with the connecting wire 33' at the terminus of the hole underneath the trench or other object to be destroyed. The'hole is .then filled with mud laden water and the casing 16 is plugged up to prevent back into the opposing trench, so as to render the same untenable. e e In Fig. 12 I have shown a hole terminating at'the surface of the ground in front of the trench 1 so that a projectile as 40 may be forced therethrough by fluid pressure and saidprojectile is provided with a perciission cap as 41, or with a time fuse not shown) of the well known construction, so .that it will explode upon contact withv an object or at a predetermined time. a

, In Fig. 13 the drill. stem is shown withdrawn a certain distance from the end of the hole. In this view the hole terminates near the front wall of the trench and the projectile 40 will be exploded by contact with said wall.

InFig. 14 I have shown the hole terminating at the surface immediately in front of the trench 1', the pipe therein providing a means for conveying inflammable oil or disabling gases to the enemys trench.

VVhatI claim is: 1. The method of' undermining military trenches consisting of boring a hole horizon-' tally' or substantially horizontal in the ground from an opposing trench, said hole terminating underneath the trench by means operated from said trench to be destroyed, then forcing an explosive to the terminus of said hole by hydraulic pressure.

2. The method of undermining and destroying defensive works consisting of boring an approximately horizontal hole in the ground to a point in proximity to the works to be destroyed by means of a rotary boring drill operated from the front of saidhole, then forcing an explosive to a point adjacent the terminus of said hole by fluid pressure and there explodingthe same.

3. The method of undermining and destroying defensive wor-ks consisting of boring a plurality of approximately horizontal holes in the ground by means of a mechanically-operated drilling tool,operating from the entrance to said hole, which holes terminate underneath the works to be destroyed,

' then forcing a' charged cylinder to the inner terminus of each hole by pressure and there exploding the same.

' 4. The method of undermining and destroying a military defensive work conslsting of boring a plurality of holes which radiate from a common point, said holes terminating underneath the workto be destroyed, then forcing 'a charged cylinder to the inner terminus of, each hole by fluid pressure and there exploding the same.

5. A method of destroying the military defensive Work or trench of an enemy which consists in boring a horizontal or substantially horizontal hole in the ground to a point in proximity to the object to be destroyed by means of a mechanically-operated rotary boring tool and a drill stem whose length is increased progressively, and

thereafter forcing a destroying -agent through the drillstem toward the object to be destroyed."

6. The method of undermining and destroying an object consisting of boring a expanding boring tool by fluid pressure to the inner terminus of said hole and rotating the same to enlarge said bore, then filling then said enlarged-portion with explosive charges v and thejreexploding the same.

8. The method of undermining and destroyed by mechanical means located at the entrance to said hole, then forcing a cylinder charged with a destructive agent tothe inner terminus of the hole by fluid pressure and causing said agent to act.

9; The method of destroying defensive. works consisting of boring an underground hole by means .of a mechanically-operated drilling tool, operating from the entrance thereto, and a. stream of water that flushes the disintegrated material out of the hole, 7 then forcin an explosive to the terminus of said hole a jacent said works by fluid pressure and there exploding the same. I

10. The me-hod of undermining and destroying an object consisting of boring an. approximatelyhorizontal hole which termimates-underneath the object to be destroyed,

then forming an automatically expanding reamer to the inner terminus of the hole and rotatlng the same to enlarge said terminus,

reamer and then forcin'g explosive by fluid pressure I into the enlarged portion ofs'aid hole'and there exploding the same. I

11. method of destroying an object located at a distant point, which consists in boring a horizontal or substantially hori zontal hole in the ground to 'a pointin collapsing and withdrawingsaid proximitytosaid object by means of a mechanical boring tool that is operated at' a point adjacent the-front endof-said hole, enlarging the inner end of said hole, forcing a destroying agent into the enlarged portion of the hole by a medium under pressure, and thereafter causing said agent to act. a

12. A method of destroying an object lo- I cated at a distant point, which consists in using a hollow drill stem and a rotary boring tool to form a horizontal. or substan-' tially horizontal hole in the ground to a point in proximity to said object, disconnecting said tool from said stem andarranging a reaming tool on the inner .end of said stem so as to enlarge said hole, forcing a destroyin agent through said stem into the enlarge portion of said hole, and there-' after causing said destroying agent to act.

13. A method of destroying the defensive Wprks or trenches of an enemy, which con-- sists in boring a horizontal or substantially horizontal hole in the groundto a point in proxlmity to the object to be destroyed by means operated from theentrance to said a hole and simultaneously arranging a tubu-' lar member in said-hole, flushing the disin tegratedmaterial out of the hole during the drilling operation, and thereafter forcing a.

cylinder containing a destroying agent through said tubular member to the innerend of said hole by a medium'under pressure and finally causing said destroying agent to act. 7

14. A method of destroying an object located at a distant point, which consists in boring a horizontal or substantially horizonta'l hole in the ground to a point in proximity to said ob ect by a mechanical means operated from the front end of said hole, }enlarging the inner end of said hole by a mechanical means, forcing a destroying agent into the inner end of said hole by a medium under pressure, and thereafter 15 using electricity for causing said agent to act.

Intestimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

- HOWARD R. HUGHES.

Witnesses:

FLORENCE GREENOUGH, ANNIE L. CARY. 

